STEVE CORONELLA: In Trump's America, just plain good would be great

President Donald Trump is a man of few words, insofar as he uses the same ones over and over again, issuing them in a regular stream of 140-character pronouncements.

Perhaps his favorite word is great, as in “I will build a great, great wall on our southern border,” “I have a great relationship with the blacks,” and “President Xi, we have a, like, a really great relationship.”

President Trump also used the word in his presumptuous 2016 campaign slogan – “Make America Great Again” – and back in January revealed that he plans to recycle it when he runs for re-election. Anticipating the resounding success of his first administration, Mr. Trump has said he will urge voters in 2020 to “Keep America Great!”.

Now, I know Americans love their superlatives, but maybe we should dial back the hyperbole and start settling for just plain good these days.

For instance, I'd bet that blue and red state voters, as well as those with no hue at all, would be delighted if the country's Promoter-in-Chief got behind the following modest initiatives:

A good public education system, sensibly valued and overseen by dedicated teachers and administrators, that delivers a life-long interest in learning. After all, to cite John Dewey, who believed an informed electorate was essential to a functioning democracy: “Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.”

A good working relationship among the leaders of our two political parties, resulting in a respectful discourse and legislative proposals that reflect the big picture instead of divisive partisan viewpoints. As JFK (who didn't always practice what he preached) once said: “Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer.”

A good mix of objective media – newspapers, TV, and online platforms – that are sufficiently remote from those in power and dogged enough in their investigations to call out folly and deception when it is apparent. As independent journalist I.F. Stone, who was blacklisted in the 1950s, once remarked: “I made no claims to 'inside stuff.' I tried to give information which could be documented, so the reader could check it for himself.”

A good public health system, accessible to all citizens, especially at primary care level, regardless of income or status. Although his name is synonymous with the Great Depression, Herbert Hoover also said: “Public health service should be as fully organized and as universally incorporated into our governmental system as is public education.”

And finally, a good enough occupant of the Oval Office, one who possesses the humor and self-awareness to appreciate that he is a temporary – albeit important – player on a broader stage. Abraham Lincoln, no slouch himself when it came to sly introspection, perhaps foresaw our current Commander-in-Chief when he said: “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.”

Medford native Steve Coronella has lived in Ireland since 1992. He is the author of “Designing Dev,” a comic novel about an Irish-American lad from Boston who runs for the Irish presidency. His latest book is “Entering Medford – And Other Destinations.”

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